The 6 year wait since their last album makes it really difficult to forgive the Beasties for the massive disappointment that was To The Five Boroughs. Fortunately, this shit-hot collab with Green Lantern goes a long way towards absolution. Green's combination of Beastie acapellas with modern beats instantly washes away all the Tibetan Freedom sanctimony and groan-inducing lyrics of recent years, letting us rediscover Mike, Adam, and Adam as the fun-loving rap hipsters they always were. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by this disc, but it's really that good. Checkout stuff like "Triple Trouble" over "White Lines" "Hey Ladies" over "Hypnotized" and "Pass The Mic" over "What Up Gangsta". Along with all the blends, there's a sick Clipse freestyle, MOP's rock band cover of "No Sleep Till Brooklyn", Redman's Def Squad version of "Posse's Getting Big"from Docs The Name, and Busta's take on "Paul Revere" hell, even Billy Joel gets in on the act! I have no idea whether this was Capitol's attempt to keep the Beasties relevant, Green Lantern's fan tribute, or a response to Mixmaster Mike's use of new instrumentals on tour (I watched him put on "Coolie Dance" during "Brass Monkey" a month or two ago, and Adrock was all "woah, whoa, slow it down there Mikey"; regardless of the motivation, this CD is genuinely dope. 20 tracks total.

reviewed by Nick Catchdubs